Inferno had just sent Glenda to the cave once more. “How dare she continue to rebuke me!” Inferno thought. “Such an insolent dragoness! She hasn’t even finished growing, yet I can never prove or share my knowledge to her.” Inferno sighed and whipped his spiked tail repetitively against the stone floor of the palace. Smoke began to escape his nostrils and evaporate into the air above his horns like a chimney. Inferno always had difficulty controlling his temper, especially around Glenda. But he wasn’t sorry. “It is Glenda who has to control her temper,” he thought. “She has to bite her tongue and obey her father.” And Inferno hoped that his arrogant daughter would one day lower her pride.
    
Back at the cave, Glenda was thinking of her own problems. “It’s time someone put an end to this madness,” she said aloud. The cave walls echoed her voice. Glenda sat down and thought deeper. “But how…” She wondered. “How could she stop her father’s evil reign?” Glenda got back up again and paced. The only way she could possibly save her kingdom was if she challenged Inferno. That however, was a huge risk.
Nobody ever dared to challenge Inferno, and whoever did was instantly defeated. Once the defeated, shamed dragon could stand, or lift its wings, they were spared and banished for eternity to the mountains and caves of ash and hardship. To ruin a dragon’s pride was worse than death itself, which made Inferno’s decision of sparing the traitors even more diabolical.
Thinking about this humiliation got Glenda thirsty and stressed, so she decided to get herself a drink. As she stooped her long neck down to take a refreshing sip of water, she stopped when she saw her reflection. Glenda stared back at herself, her thoughts rippling and merging together just like the water. First, she looked at her appearance. Her white scales, her horny crown that surrounded her head, and her long snout. Could she be threatening? Could she win? She had never participated in a battle. How could she possibly protect herself, especially against Inferno, the strongest dragon in the realm?
Glenda stared back at herself and was instantly enraged by her pathetic reasoning. Sure, she knew the odds of succeeding were slim, but she didn’t care. Smoke began emerging through her gritting teeth. She was always against her father’s motives that he had so heavily tried to push on her, and today was the day she was going to confront him.

Glenda looked out of the cave and at the flight ahead of her. She opened her massive wings and gave them a good shake. That small cave could give the most irritating cramps. Glenda focused her vision towards Inferno’s palace, and began going through her plan step by step. “Okay, get to Inferno’s castle, give a speech, confront him, spar a bit, be victorious, and gain Inferno’s title, throne, and rule. It seems simple enough,” she tried to convince herself, banishing her doubts into the darkest corners of her mind.
The dragoness widened her stance and pushed herself upward, using her back legs. In an instant, she was soaring. The wind brushed against her wings and face, the perfect weather to fly in, and provided little to no effort on her part. Glenda observed as dragons of all shapes and features and skills practiced their mid-air sparing and going about their business. She knew that once she gained the throne, she would make their lives better, although they didn’t know that. Most of the dragons were very simple minded and didn’t usually think for themselves, which made them easily manipulatable. That’s why Inferno influenced them so flawlessly and effortlessly. “The dragon citizens have more power than they think,” Glenda thought as she passed them.  
At last, she set eyes on the castle. It was overwhelming to say the least. The numerous tall stone columns that held up this marvel made one feel like a speck along the sand. The carved pictures of history that were depicted along its walls were grand. And the master craftsmanship from the most skilled dragons was breathtaking.
Thoughts of anxiety filled Glenda’s mind. She grew up here, but it was the first time she’d be arriving as a traitor to the monarchy. Mouth agape, she stood, and recollected her old life and how it all was about to change, for better or for worse. “Should I continue?” Glenda’s doubts had briefly escaped its imprisonment. She shook her head, trying to get over herself, but she couldn’t. All at once her questions spilled out like a leak. The task was daunting, but she and her emotions weren’t making it much easier. Glenda sat her flank on the stone floor beneath her and held her head in her claws.
“I have to collect myself. I need to get a motive.” one voice told herself.
“I thought I already had a motive!” another said.
“You’ll never do it! You can’t! Just go back, you’ll be safe there,” her doubts and concerns said.
“Ugh! Enough of this!” Glenda spoke aloud in a whisper, blocking out the others. “You’re not happy with your life now, whichever way you throw it, you won’t be happy without confronting him! Don’t be a coward. Fix your kingdom!”
And with that conclusion, Glenda lurked into the castle.

In the hallway, Glenda peered at the enormous tread of stairs that lead her to her father’s throne room. From her angle, it appeared to go on forever. Wanting to stretch her wings out and soar over the stairs, she tried to push them open, but failed. Her massive wingspan could not fit in the narrow stairway, so she begrudgingly trotted upward. While Glenda pressed on, her expectations grew. As a young hatchling, her father never allowed her to enter the throne room, or even go up the stairs for that matter. Inferno’s excuse was that she could not handle adult-matters yet, and she still had much to learn. Her pace quickened. Glenda knew that she was ready, not just in maturity, but in knowledge that far surpassed Inferno’s.
Suddenly, Glenda came to an abrupt stop. There were the doors right in front of her; the doors that would lead her to the throne room. They had intricate designs of swirls and patterns. The corners were scorched with the flame of every dragon who had stepped through. Both doors had a knob on its inner side, and were shaped in the form of a dragon’s head. Their intense empty eye sockets appeared to be glaring back at her. Must she scorch a mark on the door? When she decided where it should go, Glenda wrapped her claws around the big doorknob and blew a breath of fire on the lock. The doors knobs glowed as she tugged them open. She was amazed at how heavy the doors were.
A bright light shone through the opening. Glenda dilated her eyes, and continued tugging. Finally, she opened them all the way. She looked around at her surroundings. The palace throne room was huge! In front of her lay a scorched path, where the elite would walk to their place in the debating table. Above her were tons of stands for dragons to perch on and listen. On the far right of her stretched a balcony that could be used as a battlefield. Scratch marks and ask covered most of it. She figured this would be where she challenged Inferno. She swung her head about, searching for the beast, but he could not be found. Glenda convinced herself that she might as well have a search around while she waits for him to eventually show up.
She peered once more at the discussion area. Thrones where set around the table, but were not as grand as the Ruler’s throne. His was sculpted masterfully, with emeralds and jewels encrusted into it. Although it appeared Inferno chose to have the upper right corner of the chair scorched. Glenda couldn’t imagine why, it looked perfect without it. Glenda’s eyes then traveled toward the table. The table itself was not much to look at, being made of stone and incredibly low to the ground. The real wonder was the structure on top of the table. Glenda walked closer to it to get a closer look. Her long neck strained over the structure and she glanced at it excitedly. It appeared to be a miniature replica of the whole kingdom! She scanned every crook and cranny of it, and slowly began to pace around it. The youngster in her wanted to explore it all day, but something else startled her to attention.
“How dare you enter this sacred place of business!”
Glenda, who was not facing the dragon, bolted her head upright, startled. She immediately collected herself, for she did not want to appear that she didn’t want to be caught. She instantly recognized the voice, and her face crinkled with disgust. She was ready. She whipped around, her face and mind determined and set. “It’s not sacred when you’re running it!” she snapped back.
Inferno did not respond, nor did he seem to care about her obscene remark. His black eyes stared right back at her. Stepping off his shadowed perch, he soared down onto his throne. Like Glenda’s, his wings were incredibly large, and were easily intimidating. Glenda, used to his fowl appearance, didn’t even flinch.
“What is it that you want?” Inferno said coldly.
“I’ve come to challenge you!”
Inferno raised an eyebrow. Then out of nowhere he burst out a mocking shriek, that could possibly be titled a laugh. “Kahahahaha! You wish to challenge me, dear daughter!” he paused to take a breath. He regained his serious tone. “It might not have entered your skull that such acts are treasonous and are punishable by banishment. On top of that, you have not even begun to wrap yourself around the concept of battle. It would be pointless to battle me, go back to your time-out cave, or tell me what you’ve actually come for.”
“I told you, I’ve come to CHALLENGE you!”
Inferno puffed some smoke from his nostrils. “You’re testing my patience! Do you not realize that I am giving you an immense amount of leeway? Do you not realize that I have the power to banish you?”
“I know the consequences fully, and I have dwelled on the subject much, and my decision is absolute. I will challenge you; for the glory and honor of my kingdom!”
Inferno roared at Glenda, and flapped his wings powerfully. The gust almost shot her through the doors in which she came. But she held her claws deeply in the stone, and stood her ground. “Get out! GET OUT if you know what’s good for you!” he raged.
“No! Either accept my challenge or step down!” Glenda snapped boldly. Flares of fire engulfed the back of her throat.
“I shall never surrender! I shall reign forever, and you shall crumble in my grasp!
Inferno leapt out of his throne and spread his wings. He glided to the balcony and screeched to the top of his lungs. Immediately, two guards came into view.
The dragons seemed practically identical. Their dark blue scales were fierce and regal, white underbelly, and spinal spikes were bold, and striking. Their wings were moderately sized (definitely not as big as Inferno’s or Glenda’s), but muscular. They both wore metal helmets with the royal flame emblem in its center. On their front paws were spiked gloves. The only thing different about the two was one detail small detail. As Glenda looked closer, she could see that one of the guards had an eye missing on his left side. Its bare socket lied barren and gave him a pleading, sorrowful depiction. The two guards saluted Inferno and asked for his request.
“Prepare this place once again for a battle,” he requested coldly to them, as if this routine bored him. He focused his glare specifically at the one-eyed dragon and got up in his face. “And keep your last remaining eye on that traitor or you’ll be blind.”
The one-eyed dragon gulped, and his scales shook. “Y-yes sir. You have my word s-sir!” he finally stuttered. He was trying to maintain a collected tone, but didn’t seem to succeed.
Inferno narrowed his eyes and turned away, flying to his side of the balcony with the other guard.
The timid guard flew over to Glenda and pointed his spiky gloves at Glenda. At this range, both dragons were the same height, and looked to be the same age. He seemed a little unsure of what to do next, so he decided smart talking. “Now keep moving, dragoness!” he hissed. “Get on your side of the battlefield or you’ll get the glove!”
Glenda, completely dodging his wimpy excuse of a threat, threw out a question. “So… a dragon like you must have a name, what is it?”
The blue dragon stared at her in disbelief. “How are you so calm? You’re about to face INFERNO! Do you realize how powerful that guy is!?” The dragon seemed to tremble as he said this. Slowly he began pawing below his missing eye.
Glenda made no response.
The dragon, realizing this, bent his neck down a little. “Darius…” he said timidly. “And um… Miss,” he said respectfully. “Can we please go to the field now? Inferno’s threatened me and I just want to do my job.,”.
Glenda stared back into Darius’ remaining eye. It was mostly clouded with fear, but had surprisingly love and gentleness in it. Something had traumatized him. “Darius, is Inferno responsible for your eye…”
“Yes,” he whimpered. “And I don’t want the other lost either, so get going!” Darius whipped his tail about and continued the march.
Glenda followed.
As they were walking side by side, Glenda felt something urge inside her. A feeling of compassion and dedication. It was dragons like this that she would be fighting for. If a dragon like Darius existed, there were bound to be others hiding the same fear and tension in their hearts and minds. The only question in her mind was why Darius chose to be in the royal guard. Then a horrible reality entered her mind. Maybe he didn’t choose. Maybe he was drafted! To make sure, she went to the source.
“Darius, answer me honestly. I’m going to battle, and I don’t know how it’ll end up. I’d like to know before I start. Are you happy in your service to Inferno, my father?”
Darius darted his head to face her. The word father had caught his attention. He of course knew that Inferno had an heir, but never expected this to be her. This aroused a bit of hope in his heart. If she succeeded, she’d be a queen. A considerate dragoness like her! For his now spiking respect for her, Darius took the honest route. He gave a long sigh.
“I am not really happy, Miss. In the start of my service – more like sentence really – my brother and I were drafted to be in the royal guard. My brother, Damien, instantly favored his new lifestyle, and grew completely loyal to Inferno. I however, was still resentful of his selfish decision and was growing a rebellious streak. Inferno noticed this and punished me cruelly. My life changed from that point on, Miss. Since then I have remained forever loyal, in fear of my sight.”
Darius, who was getting caught in the moment, glanced over at Glenda, who appeared to be filled to her spikes with anger as she heard this pitiful tale.
To ease her worry, he posed a question back. “So, Miss, tell me, why are you challenging your father?”
At this point, Glenda was already racing to the battlefield. This had to end!
“Wait!” Darius trotted after her! I’m going to get destroyed if you don’t get back here! You didn’t even answer my question!”
“I’m avenging your eye!” Glenda shouted behind her. Darius had by then stopped in his tracks. He had heard her answer, and knew that this was just the beginning of something big.

Glenda stood on the battlefield. Her claws flexed at the rocky ground beneath her. If she were to crash from the air on this floor, she could be brutally damaged. She peered at her target ahead. Inferno, with a sturdy, never swaying stance, glared back. His wings were outstretched in a territorial fashion, as if defending his territory from an outsider. She maintained a similar position.
By now, Darius had managed to catch up, panting heavily. His ears drooped in front of his face as he plopped down for a brief rest. He felt Inferno’s glare going right through him. He quickly straightened and professionalized himself. Adjusting his helmet and puffing out his chest, he waited for his brother’s signal.
On the other side of the court flew Damien. Confidence shaped his stride. He gently flapped his wings as his feet touched the ground, and gave a little bow to his king. Inferno, pleased with his entry, nodded his head approvingly. Then he squinted his gaze at Darius disapprovingly and shook his head. The timid dragon’s brow created a brisk sweat.
Damien folded his wings against his back and sat down. He turned his head and gave Darius the signal he was waiting for; a toothy grin.
Darius gave a toothy grin back and silently counted to five in his head. “1…2…3…4…5,”
The two brothers both shot a blazing fire across the court, and flew up to their perch on the balcony. The battle had begun.

Inferno stared back at his daughter confidently. “I’ve never taught her how to battle. She will be helpless against my wrath. The brat doesn’t know what she’s in for. She cannot imagine how powerful I truly am.” He thought. He brought his claws hard against the ground, uprooting sand and rock. “She will never win.”
Glenda glared back at her father. “I will win for all the dragons in this realm, the helpless, and the weak. Your reign of selfishness and despicability will come to an abrupt end!” She claimed aloud to the so-called king.
Inferno roared in opposition. “You have no chance of succession! Your thoughts are merely treasonous devices.”
At first, she didn’t know what move to make. They just stood there for a few seconds, strategizing, thinking. It was Inferno who made the first move.
He stood up on his hind legs. Fire shot through Inferno’s long, sharp jaws. Glenda scrambled to fly up and avoid it’s burn. She missed it by a scale. She flew about the sky, looking for a good angle to attack. Mid-air, Glenda mustered a shot of fire. It was pathetic compared to Inferno’s.
Inferno flapped his massive wings and flew up to match Glenda’s altitude. As soon as he reached her level, Glenda tried to tip him off using an offensive approach and darted towards her opponent. Inferno readied his stance. They locked jaws.
Growls and screeches were unleashed. Sprawling and kicking, Glenda scratched and pawed at his scales. But Inferno’s grip was stronger. He twisted and flung her across the arena.
As she spiraled, Glenda flapped incessantly to regained control. Once accomplished, she let out a fireball at Inferno, more powerful that the last. Inferno stroked his wings at the flame, dousing it with the gust carried from his wings. In response, Inferno gave out an aggressive screech and yanked his tail forward. It smashed into Glenda’s side.
She gave a sharp roar. She descended to the ground to catch her breath. Anger welled up inside her. A spark formed in her throat. Its energy was powerful, unlike anything she had felt before.
Inferno dashed down to the floor, and reconstructed his beginning pose; his wings outstretched.
Letting the flame’s power overcome her, Glenda breathed the fire directly at Inferno. The flame had caught his right wing.
“Master!” Damien cried from his post. He desperately wanted to help. That cruel dragoness had caused his master pain! His loyalty to the custom held him back. The rule of a challenge was no interference. He clawed impatiently at the ledge where he sat.
Darius looked at his younger brother and shook his head. He loved his brother, and their bond was to remain strong. He was the only one he had left. However, unlike Damien, he had no remorse for Inferno. “This is what he deserved.”
Something in the distance made his ears perk up. Darius turned his head, and scrambled to get his brother’s attention.
“Hey! Knock it off!” his brother said, as Darius shook him.
“Look!” Darius pointed toward the mob.
“Great dragon scales!”
A swarm of dragons that had heard all the commotion of the fight were headed their way. They all gathered up on the balcony. Darius and Damien tried to hold off the crowd, but were not heard over all the screeching and blabbering. They eventually squeezed their way out of the crowd, and flew to another ledge, and continued watching.
This was the turning point of the battle. Glenda watched in amazement and terror as she watched her father bellow a monstrous roar as the fire began to burn through the skin on his wing. Shock had overtaken her, and could not muster a single breath. The scene had seemed to play in slow motion.
Fear surrounded Inferno’s yellow eyes, and soon took over his entire body. He shook and clawed at his wing. He flew in circles in search of something to douse the flame. His eyes caught a spring a few flaps away. Inferno dove down and fast as he could, and splashed into the puddle. He quickly turned his neck towards his wing. It was not on fire anymore, but the fire had left a gaping hole in his once magnificent wing. He stared in fury at his daughter. Resentment and humiliation flowed through his veins. “You’ve made a mockery of me!” he huffed, “and now, there will be no mercy!”
He ran towards Glenda, who was still frozen stiff, and lunged at her, mouth agape. Glenda’s eyes widened as his claws wrapped around her waist. Helpless in Inferno’s grasp, Inferno flapped his wings and lifted her up into the air. Glenda struggled but couldn’t escape.
Inferno let Glenda go, but before she could open her wings, he blew a raging fire on top of her.
She tried to stretch her wings around herself like a shield to protect her, but the fire was faster. The impact of the fire sent her rushing down. Glena crashed directly on her back against the rock-hard ground.
Glenda could not even let out a whimper. Pain and numbness consumed her as she watched Inferno close in to strike the final blow on his defeated opponent. His claws outstretched, Inferno slammed on top of Glenda’s chest. Dust and rock surrounded them from the impact.
It was over.
Glenda lay on her side, panting, trying to get in a breath. Defeated.
Inferno stood on his hind legs and let out a victorious roar.
Darius looked on in horror.
Damien was mouth agape with pride and astonishment.
The crowd cheered and booed. They didn’t really care about the results, they just enjoyed the show.
Damien and Darius flew down together to tend to the fighters. Darius knelt down near Glenda’s head, tears in his eye. He hated to see her in such agony. He nudged her with his head. She couldn’t get up. “Glenda, please answer! Are you alright?” Darius pleaded in a whisper with urgency.
Glenda gathered up her strength to lift her head towards his. Guilt pierced her more than her pain. “Darius…. I’m so sorry!... I failed you. I failed the kingdom.”
“Glenda. I don’t matter right now. You’re hurt. Bad. Can you afford to stand?” Darius tried to support her weight with his. She let out a faint whine. He stopped. What was he to do?
On the other side of the arena, Damien was showering Inferno with praises. “You were incredible, O fierce one. You kept our kingdom safe! How’s your wing? Speaking of which, you were victorious even with your injury. That’s phenomenal....” The list went on and on.
Inferno, nodded his head to excuse himself from the conversation. Damien made a slight bow, and Inferno got up and made his way towards the two dragons.
Darius saw the king walk closer, but remained at Glenda’s side. “Like he said,” Darius thought, “I’m keeping my eye on the dragoness.”
Inferno was now towering over the two. Glenda huffed at him. Darius made no response. Inferno’s big paw clamped around Darius’s throat and lifted him off the ground. The innocent dragon squirmed and chirped for release. The grip grew tighter.
“Don’t pity her, Darius.” Inferno snapped fiercely. His grip grew tighter, and Darius began to choke. “Or you’ll be accused of siding with a traitor, therefore becoming one yourself!”
Darius’s claws pawed at the sturdy grip. He began to feel light-headed.
Glenda, seeing all this, gathered up her remaining strength to blow one last flame at the tyrant. Inferno’s head dodged it, and he snarled at her. “Leave him alone!” She spat. “Drop him!”
He did.
Darius’ flank plopped on the floor, and he darted off to the bunkers a couple wing flaps away, scared out of his mind. He did not look back.
Inferno looked at Glenda and proceeded to grab her by her neck. He did not squeeze it however. Mercy, Glenda concluded.
“You are not permitted to return,” Inferno stated. “You’re banished, and will be moved to the ash ridden caves miles beyond here. But so that you never forget your treachery…”
Inferno’s claws extended and he lashed a massive gash on Glenda’s left cheek. Glenda’s own claws dug into the ground. Pain surged threw her. She bit her tongue to silence any further outbursts. Blood trickled down her neck. Hate and anger filled her to the point that she was shaking with it. Inferno relinquished his claws, turned around, and flew off to his throne.

All the bystanding dragons flew towards the banished dragoness. They laughed and yelled, and threw sparks at her. They continued to step closer and closer. Glenda scrambled to her feet, though every move she made shot tension and pain all throughout her body. She knew that these dragons were now hostile to her, she could sense this. They came in for the charge. They piled on top of her, picking and scratching her.
Glenda roared and flapped her wings to try and get away. “I have to get away, otherwise I won’t make it,” she convinced herself. She blew a cloud of smoke around herself. The dragons began to cough and linger away. Glenda then painfully flew off, to the ash ridden caves, to where she was sentenced.
Glenda looked behind her at the mountainous place she had known her whole life. Dragons standing at its edge, spitting fire as a warning of what would happen if she returned. Tears escaped her eyes as she turned her head back on course. Across the water, towards her fate.
The journey was rough and painful. Glenda was suffering a great amount of stress and blood loss. She maintained a low altitude; her claws could almost touch the icy water. Only fear of drowning kept her flying. Glenda stared at herself, as she once did in her detention cave. Her cheek was still bleeding, and she was scuffed up pretty bad, but she didn’t look at her appearance. All she could see was failure. She let everyone down. Those dragons that attacked her didn’t realize the pit they were falling in. She was supposed to win…
Thunder broke Glenda of her grief for a brief moment. She looked above and saw dark clouds swirling, with light flickering inside. A storm was brewing. She had no choice. “I have to get higher up!” Glenda coached herself. “Come on! You can do it, Glenda! Go!” Her shoulders ached, every stroke made her want to scream. She flapped and flapped until she was above the clouds and away from the storm. She had to admit, the view was gorgeous, but her pain took the beauty all away.
It seemed like decades before she finally saw sight of land. Big boulders that protruded out of the water. None were big enough to land on. Discouraged, she continued flying.
She squinted down at another boulder that looked slightly bigger that the rest. She lessened her stride, and looked closer. It wasn’t a boulder, but a cave. Black soot surrounded the entrance. Relief washed over Glenda, but not for long. Something was wrong.
She felt a sharp pain in her side. Glenda roared in pain, and suddenly wasn’t able to control her wings. Glenda fought with herself. She was falling in a nose dive, and fast. Glenda tried to rear up, but she was falling limp. She tried to keep her eyes open, but wind kept piercing them shut. Her vision blurred out a bit, “No! Stop! Help!” she tried to cry, but it was no use, the words never came past her dry tongue.
Helpless, she crashed into the entrance of the cave, skidding across the rocky ground. Pebbles and dust caked into her open wounds, her head banged on the floor. Pain overtook her body, and everything went black.